Automatic mechanism for use in step-by-step rolling of metal tubes.



PATENTED NOV. 1, 1904. R. LAYBOUBNE. O. W. E. MARSH & B. PRICE.AUTOMATIC MECHANISM FOR USE IN STEP BY STEP ROLLING 0P METAL TUBES.APPLIGATION FILED NOV. 21, 1902.

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Patented November 1, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT Orrrcs.

RICHARD LAYBOURNE, CHARLES WILLIAM EARLE MARSH, AND I BENJAMIN PRICE. OFNEWPORT, ENGLAND.

AUTOMATIC MECHANISM FOR USE IN STEP-BY-STEP ROLLING OF METAL TUBES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 774,087, dated.November 1, 1904. Application filed November 21,1902. Serial No.132,335. a, modelJ T0 (0U wltmn it may concern:

Beit known that we, RICHARD LAYBOURNE, civil engineer, CHAHLns VVILLIAMEARLE MARsH, civil engineer, and BENJAMIN PRICE, engineer, subjects ofthe King of Great Britain, residing at Newport, in the county ofMonmouth, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAutomatic Mechanism for Use in the Step-by-Step Rolling of Metal Tubes,of which the following is a specification. 7

This invention has for its object improvements in or relating toautomaticmechanism for use in step-by-step rolling of metal tubes, andrelates more particularly to that class or type of apparatus forstep-by-step rolling or swaging tubes from hollow ingots or hollowbillets in which the rolls are reciprocated along the work-piece(tube)for example, where the housings in which the rolls are journaledare adapted to be bodily reciprocated along the tube, as described inUnited States Patents No.570,816, No. 608,908, and No. 681,557- suchapparatus having a feed-screw and a mechanically-held andmechanically-operated mandrel adapted to intermittently advance androtate the hollow ingot or hollow billet on said mandrel; and thepresent invention consists in the combination. with such feedscrew andmandrel, of a yielding clutch which is intermittently and automaticallythrown out of gear by the action of the rolls when same grip the tube orwork-piece and thereby prevent the rotation and advance of thefeedscrew, of means to automatically force a yielding part of saidclutch into gear with a constantly-rotating part of said clutch at themoment when the work-piece on the mandrel is liberated by the rolls, andconsequently is free to be'fed and turned, and means for advancing andturning said mandrel and work-piece a suitable distance to expose afresh portion of the unworked part of the tube or workpiece to theaction of the rolls; and, furthermore, the present inventionhasreference to reversing and mandrel-extracting mechanism whereby theprocess of rolling tubes step-bystep is considerably simplified andaccelerated,

all as hereinafter fully described, and the novel features of thisinvention finally pointed out in the claims.

According to this invention thev periodic turning and'advance forward ofthe mandrel and work-piece may be obtained by an automatic yielding orfriction clutch. The feedspindle to which'the mandrel is secured is provided with a groove by means of which same can slide along a feather inone part of the said clutch part, which may be termed the movableclutch, being forced into gear by springs or otherwise with the otherclutch part, which may be termed the revolving clutch part, same beingcontinually revolved by toothed Wheels mounted on a sliding saddlecapable of being moved in a longitudinal di rection upon a long bedattached to the main frame carrying the roll-housing. The yieldingclutch may be thrown in and out of action by a lever controlled by theworkman. The mandrel and work-piece are turned and advanced forward whenthe gaps of the rolls release the tube. As the movable clutch part isforced into the continuous rotating clutch part it has a tendency toturn and advance the feedspindle; but this is prevented by theimpingement of the rolls .upon the billet or partly-rolled tube. Thefeed-spindle is thus retarded by the action of the rolls upon the metaland mandrel, and therefore the spindle on which the mandrel is held. Asthe rotating clutch part is continuously rotating the yielding clutchpart is forced out of action automatically when the work-piece is heldby the projecting part of the rolls. After every attack and from themoment the tube is released (by the gaps in the rolls) until it isgripped and held again by the rolls the yielding clutch part is forcedinto action and is rotated-say one-fourth of a revolution or to anydesired extent-and as a result the feedspindle is caused to advance andturn a suit able distance and advance and turn with it the work-piece onit. The feed-spindle unless prevented periodically by the action of therolls pressing upon the work-piece would constantly rotate. The rolls,therefore, according to this part of the invention, perform a veryimportant part in regulating the feed of the work-piece between them, asduring the release of the tube by the gaps the spindle is at liberty anddoes automatically ad- Vance and turn the tube forward. The rotation ofthe feed-spindle may be governed and effected by suitable gearing fromthe main shaft. The clutch parts may have their adjacent faces serratedin a suitable manner or they may be prepared as ordinaryfrictionclutches. The movable clutch part is also adapted to reverse thefeed-spindle after completion of rolling. This is accomplished byforcing it with a suitable lever into another clutch part rotated in anopposite direction to the feed-clutch. The feed-spindle may be providedwith a sleeve which determines the position of the work-piece upon themandrel and is arranged to be moved automatically upon the spindle whenbut a short portion of the billet is left unworked. The tube is thusallowed to pass completely through the rolls, and no waste orinterruption of the rolling takes place. The spindle may be hollow andthe mandrel may pass through it. After completion of rolling it (themandrel) may be pushed sufliciently far between the rolls to place asuitable yoke mounted on a cross-bar upon it and behind the tube. Whenthis is done,the saddle carrying the feed-spindle and to which themandrel is secured is moved back upon its bed and the mandrel is drawnout of the tube.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view inelevation, showing the feed and reversing gear mounted in a slidingcarriage supported and suitably guided upon a bed. Fig. 2 is a sectionalview showing position of head of feed-spindle in the sleeve, with themandrel pushed forward and yoke in position to extract the mandrel fromtube upon completion of rolling. Fig. 3 is a view, partly sectional, ofthe cylinder, with the auxiliary cylinder, for controlling movement offeed-saddle upon the bed of the machine. Fig. 4 shows form of yoke thatmay be used for preventing movement of tube when the mandrel iswithdrawn therefrom.

Referring to Fig. l, the tube 36 is shown partly rolled out upon themandrel 38 by the rolls 1 1. The tube is advanced and turnedperiodically to expose a fresh portion of the unworked part of the tubeto the action of the rolls. This has already been described in theaforesaid specifications,and therefore need not be described furtherherein.- The shaft 24 is rotated by the shaft (not shownloperating theroll-housing in the manner shown in our former patent, No. 608,908,dated August 9, 1898, carrying the rolls 1 1. Motion is imparted to theshaft 27 within the bed 28 by means of the toothed wheels 29, 30, and31. The miter-wheels 25, 26, 18, and 19, rotated by the shaft 27, impartmovement to the movable clutch part 33 when desired. The bevelwheel 18has a rearwardly-extending sleeve journaled in the bearing 20, carriedby the saddle, the rear end 34 being formed with slightly-recessed partswhich gear in coacting parts of the clutch part 33 when the latter isforced into action. The clutch part 33 is provided with a feathersliding in the longitudinal slot 7, forming a feather-way in thescrewspindle 7. They therefore rotate together. The wheel 18, with therear end 34 recessed, is bored out slightly larger than the screwspindle7. It would therefore by itself impart no movement to the spindle 7.

The intermittent movement of the feedspindle 7, mandrel 38, and tube 36is obtained as follows: The wheel 18, with its recessed portion 34, iscontinuously rotated, as aforesaid, by the shafts 27 and 24 and wheels29, 30, and 31. When the rolling action takes place, the clutch part 33is disengaged by a hand-lever (not shown) and is forced by thecoil-spring 32 into gear with the clutch 34. During the attack of therolls 1 1 upon the tube 36 it is held firmly by them, and since themandrel 38 is secured to the screw-spindle 7, upon which the clutch part33 is mounted, it follows that the latter must yield or give way toallow the wheel and clutch 34 to rotate. It must be understood that therecessed parts of the clutches 33 34 must not be too deep. When thetube-mandrel and feed-spindle are liberated by the gaps of the rolls,the clutch 33 automatically falls into clutch connection and rotates thespindle 7 and mandrel and tube thereon, say, about one-fourth of a turn.This takes place at each stroke of the rolls, and the tube is advancedand rotated with the mandrel and feed-spindle intermittently until theyare far enough advanced to complete the rolling of the tube. The spindle7 is preferably made hollow to admit a mandrel passing through it. Themandrel 38 may be secured to the screw-spindle 7 by cotters 44 and 11 ora set-screw or any other convenient method. The cotter 11 should beremoved after the tube is rolled out. The mandrel is then free to passthrough the screwspindle until the nut 12 is in contact with the end ofthe said spindle. After the mandrel is withdrawn from the tube themandrel is drawn back to its original position and the cotter 11 isreinserted, thus securing the mandrel in the feed-screw ready for thefollowing billet to be rolled out. The mandrel 38 may also be providedwith a longitudinal slot 37 to enable the mandrel (when released fromthe screwspindle to be pushed far enough through the spindle until thestop-nut l2 abuts the rear end of the spindle 7 at 11. In this positionthe finished tubeis in asuitable position to place the yoke 3, pivotedin a fixed bracket 2, behind the tube 36 and over the mandrel 38. If nowthe saddle 8 is compelled to slide back upon the bed 28 by anysuitablemeans,

such as the cylinder 50, connected to the said dle 7 is reversed andbrought back to its nor- I 'nial position for the following billet to berolled. This is accomplished by the miterwheels 9, 10, 15, and 16 andclutch part 33. A sleeve on the wheel 9 is journaledin the bearing 20,carried on the saddle 8, and is bored out slightly larger than thescrew-spindle 7, and the end 35 of said sleeve is recessed in a similarmanner to the clutch part 34:, but is rotated in an opposite direction.It follows that when the sliding clutch part 33 is forced by a lever(not shown) into the end 35 it will be turned, carrying thescrew-spindle 7 along with it until the latter is in its properposition. The screw-spindle? screws through a suitable fixed nut 29,carried on the saddle or carriage 8. i

For the purpose of completely rolling out the end of the tube the end ofthe screw-spindle 7 is furnished with and passes freely within a sleeve6 with longitudinal slot 37 to allow said sleeve to slide back past thecotter IA- i. 6., to permit the cotter 44., with spindle 7 and mandrel38, connected thereby, to slide through said sleeve for the length ofsaid slot 3'7. The sleeve has a collar 6, which abuts against thecross-bar 4c, fixed on the bracket 5, secured to themain bed 23. Thisprevents the end of the sleeve from being carried too far toward therolls and is proportioned in such a manner that when but a short pieceof the work-piece isleft unworked the sleeve is automatically held, (seeFig. 2,) and the screw-spindle carries the mandrel and tube forwarduntil the latter is completely rolled out. By referring to Fig. 2 theposition can be readily seen of the head of the screw-spindle 7 in thesleeve 6 after the tube has been completely rolled out. The cotterslot37 in the sleeve 6 is slightly enlarged at one end, forming alocking-shoulder, against which the cotter 4A is seated, which allowsthe sleeve to be given aslight turn, as shown in Fig. 1. This preventsthe sleeve from being forced back during the rolling operation. As soon,however, as the sleeve is held and the screw -spindle turned the cotter4:4: is forced into the groove or slot 37 and can then be easily pushedback over the head of the screw-spindle 7 out of the way to allow thewhole of the tube to pass right through the rolls.

A stop-piece 21 is fixed on the bed 23, and a spring 22 isadvantageously used to provide and determine the position of thecarriage 8 on the bed when it is forced forward by the cylinder andpiston-rod 1 1. The cylinder is suitably secured behind the bed 23 andis controlled by a hand-lever within reach of the workman. The shaft 27within the bed 23 has a feather or key way (not shown) running itsentire length or thereabouts, in which- 'valve in the box L5.

a feather secured to the wheels 26 and 16 slides. It is thereforepossible to rotate the wheels 16 and 26 when the carriage is moved toand fro upon the bed 28. This hand-lever is not shown on the drawings;but it is of the ordinary construction-namely, a yoke engaging the pins46'and terminating in a hand piece, the whole mounted on a standardsecured to the bed-plate.

If the cylinder 50 is operated by steam, it is advisable to provide adash-pot or regulating device, such as an auxiliary cylinder 42, (seeFig. 3,) filled with oil or water which passes from one side of thepiston to the other through the pipe 41 as the steam-cylinder isoperated. The cock &0 regulates the flow of liquid, and therefore thespeed at which the carriage 8 travels upon the bed 23*. Thesteam-cylinder is suitably governed by a If the carriage is controlledby a hydraulic cylinder, then of course the auxiliary cylinder is notessential.

It will be obvious that the various features of the present inventionmay be used separately or combined, as desired. For instance, the meansfor automatically feeding and turning the mandrel with the work-piecethereon may be employed without the mandrel-extracting'mechanism andeither with or without the means to continue the feeding, so that 'nopart of the billet is left unworked, and in such arrangement it will beevident that it is not essential to make the feed-spindle hollow toreceive the mandrel, and, if desired, the mandrel may be a short one,and the mandrel may be extracted from the tube at a separate andsuitable draw-bench after same have been removed from the machine thathas rolled out the tube from the billet.

Having now described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In apparatus for rolling or swaging metal tubes from hollow ingotsstep by step and having a feed-screw and mandrel adapted tointermittently advance and rotate the workpiece on said mandrel; thecombination with such feed-screw and mandrel of a yielding clutchshiftably secured to and surrounding said feed-screw and adapted to beintermittently and automatically thrown out of gear with said feed-screweach time .the rolls grip the work-piece and thereby prevent therotation and advance of the feed-screw and mandrel while the work-pieceis thus gripped, means for automatically forcing the yielding part ofsaid clutch into gear with a constantly-rotating part of said clutchwhen the work-piece mandrel and feed-screw are liberated by the rolls,and means to constantly rotate said rotating clutch part for the purposeof advancing and turning the feed screw mandrel and work-piece thereonfor a suitable distance when the latter is released from the rolls tothereby expose a'fresh'part of the work-piece to the action of the rollssubstantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore described.

2. In apparatus for rolling or swaging metal tubes from hollow ingotsstep by step and having a feed-screw and mandrel adapted tointermittently advance and rotate the work-piece on said mandrel; thecombination with such feed-screw and mandrel of a yielding clutchshiftably secured to and surrounding said feed-screw and adapted to beintermittently and automatically thrown out of gear with such feed-screweach time the rolls grip the workpiece to thus periodically prevent therotation and advance of the feed-screw mandrel and work-piece thereonwhile the work-piece is thus gripped, and means for intermittentlyforcing the yielding part of said clutch into gear for the purpose ofadvancing and rotating the feed-screw work-piece and mandrel thereonwhen the latter are liberated by the rolls substantially as and for thepurposes hereinbefore described.

3. In apparatus for rolling or swaging metal tubes from hollow ingotsstep by step and having afeed-screw and mandrel adapted tointermittently advance and rotate the Work-piece on said mandrel; thecombination with such feed-screw and mandrel of a yielding clutchshiftably secured to and surrounding said feedscrew and adapted to beintermittently and automatically thrown out of gear with such feedscreweach time the rolls grip the work-piece to thus periodically prevent therotation and advance of the feed-screw mandrel, and workpiece thereonwhile the work-piece is thus gripped, means for intermittently forcingthe yielding part of said clutch into gear for the purpose of advancingand rotating the feedscrew work-piece and mandrel thereon when thelatter are liberated by the rolls and a sleeve to automatically allowthe rear end of the workpiece to pass completely through the rolls,substantially as and for the purposes hereinbeiore described.

4. In apparatus for rolling or swaging metal tubes from hollow ingotsstep by step and having a feed-screw and mandrel adapted tointermittently advance and rotate the Work-piece on said mandrel; thecombination with such feed-screw and mandrel of a yielding clutchshiftably secured to and surrounding said feedscrew and adapted to beintermittently and automatically thrown out of gear with such feedscreweach time the rolls grip the work-piece to thus periodically prevent therotation and advance of the feed-screw mandrel and workpiece thereonwhile the work-piece is thus gripped, means for intermittently forcingthe yielding part of said clutch into gear for the purpose of advancingand rotating the feedscrew work-piece and mandrel thereon when thelatter are liberated by the rolls, a hollow feed -screw spindle throughwhich passes a mandrel and having means to suitably secure said mandrelto said hollow spindle, means for allowing the mandrel and tube to becarried forward between the rolls after the completion of rolling, andmeans for extracting the mandrel from the tube without removing themandrel from the machine, substantially as and for the purposeshereinbefore described.

5. In apparatus for rolling or swaging metal tubes from hollow ingotsstep by step and having a feed-screw and mandrel adapted tointermittently advance and rotate the work-piece on said mandrel; thecombination with such feed-screw and mandrel of a yielding clutchshit'tably secured to and surround ing said feedscrew and adapted to beintermittently and automatically thrown out of gear with such feed-screweach time the rolls grip the workpiece to thus periodically prevent therotation and advance of the feed-screw mandrel and work-piece thereonwhile the work-piece is thus gripped, means for intermittently forcingthe yielding part of said clutch into gear for the purpose of advancingand rotating the feed-screw work-piece and mandrel thereon when thelatter are liberated by the rolls, a sleeve adapted to automaticallyallow the rear end of the work-piece to pass completely through therolls, a hollow feed-screw spindle through which passes a mandrel andhaving means to suitably secure said mandrel to said hollow spindle, ofmeans for allowing the mandrel and tube to be carried forward betweenthe rolls after the completion of rolling, and means for extracting themandrel from the tube Without removing the mandrel from the machine,substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore described. 7

6. In apparatus for rolling or swaging metal tubes from hollow ingotsstep by step and having a feed-screw and mandrel adapted tointermittently advance and rotate the work-piece on said mandrel; thecombination with such feed-screw and mandrel of a yielding clutchshiftably secured to and surrounding said feedscrew and adapted to beintermittently and automatically thrown out of gear with such feed-screweach time the rolls grip the workpiece to thus periodically prevent therotation and advance of the feed-screw mandrel and work-piece thereonwhile the work-piece is thus gripped, means for intermittently forcingthe yielding part of said clutch into gear for the purpose of advancingand rotating the feed-screw work-piece and mandrel thereon when thelatter are liberated by the rolls, and means for reversing thefeed-screw spindle after completion of rolling, substantially as and forthe purposes hereinbei'ore described.

7. In apparatus for rolling or swaging metal tubes from hollow ingotsstep by step and having a feed-screw and mandrel adapted tointermittently advance and rotate the work-piece on said mandrel; thecombination with such feed-screw and mandrel of a yielding clutchshiftably secured to'and surrounding said feedscrew and adapted to beintermittently and automatically thrown out of gear with such feed-screweach time the rolls grip the Workpiece to thus periodically prevent therotation and advance of the feed-screw mandrel and Work-piece thereonWhile the Work-piece is thus gripped, means for intermittently forcingthe yielding part of said clutch into gear for the purpose of advancingand rotating the feed-screw Work-piece and mandrel thereon when thelatter are liberated by the rolls, a sleeve adapted to automaticallyallow the rear end of the Work-piece to pass completely 5 In Witnesswhereof We have hereunto set 2 our hands in presence of two Witnesses.

RICHD. LAYBOURNE. CHARLES WILLIAM EARLE MARSH. BENJAMIN PRICE.

Witnesses:

P. CHAS. GEssAQ, R. F. MARTIN.

